Money Talks: Driving Advertising Revenue Recap

MPA’s Linda Thomas Brooks opened the conference with a presentation touting the numerous studies that prove magazine media is the most effective form of media. She said, “When I first started at MPA, It was my mission to find outside research that would validate the effectiveness of magazine media.” Touching on data from Millward Brown, Nielsen Catalina Solutions and the Print Magazine Sales Guarantee, Thomas Brooks said that not only do magazines work, they move the most product. Hearst’s Jeffrey W. Hamill joined Thomas Brooks on stage to support these studies. He said, “Linda calls her presentation ‘Tells and Sells,’ but I call it ‘The Preponderance of Evidence.’” Hamill added that Hearst is a “print proud company.”

Content Recommendation: It Doesn't Have to Be This Way

Showing misleading advertisements at the bottom of credible news websites, Brandon Caudill, senior director, business development, ZergNet asked the audience, “Most content recommendation wouldn’t be used in print. So why is it allowed in digital?” With the surge in fake news, Caudill emphasized the need for credible content recommendation. He said that at Zergnet, “humans, not algorithms, feed the machine to give the most relevant content.”

Platforms and Audience Measurement Insights

Condé Nast’s Tim Kelsay and Roger Purcell discussed magazine media’s unique edge against competing advertising media options. According to to Purcell, 1 in 4 affluent adults say print is their most trusted media. He added, “Forty-two percent of affluent adults says advertising in print has credibility. Compare that to TV at only 25%.” Kelsay noted that consumers look at magazine media as sources of inspiration and an escape from everyday life: “We asked consumers what they get out of magazines, and they said it’s more of an immersive experience than TV.”

Big Brands and Social Power: Content Distribution, Audience Development and Monetization

In a discussion with SocialFlow CEO Jim Anderson, Time Inc.’s Regina Buckley analyzed the connection between social media and advertising when it comes to content distribution. She said, “I think of social as content products on a spectrum. On one end is editorial and the other end is custom content.” Buckley also said that in her new role as SVP of digital business development and business operations, her “big plan is to have groups within the digital division who are focused on each social platform.”

Programmatic. Programmatic Guaranteed. Programmatic Direct.

MPA’s Barry Fleming sat down with Sean Holzman, chief digital revenue officer, Bonnier, to discuss programmatic’s role in optimizing revenue. With programmatic growing from $39 billion in 2016 to $51 billion (+31% YoY), Holzman said, “All of our inventory is exposed to the marketplace because everyone is touched by programmatic.”

Native Advertising: The Golden Ticket

Todd Krizelman, co-founder and CEO, MediaRadar, urged publishers to invest in native advertising to maximize ad revenue. According to Krizelman, most advertisers placed native on just 10% of the websites where their campaign ran. The advertisers with the longest duration campaigns saw the highest renewal rates, proving native to be very effective.

Digital Business Growth Pillars and High Performance Executions in Native

Bloomberg’s M. Scott Havens and Amy Marks discussed their digital marketing strategy to grow the company across the globe. Citing international markets as the biggest driver of their digital growth this year, Havens said, “The US is a third of the ad market globally. That will eventually get smaller.” Havens also said that programmatic has become an integral part of their digital strategy: “As more money funnels to programmatic, we see that as a big opportunity.” To satisfy global markets, Marks said sharing custom content in real time across multiple platforms is one of the keys to their success. She added, “We’re good at telling stories and if we can tell an advertiser’s story across platforms, we all win.”

On the Front Lines: Buyers and Sellers

Magazine media buying and selling is constantly evolving to meet the changing needs of marketers across ad categories. With new platforms available, clients have more ways to get their message out. Beiersdorf’s Zvi Cole said, “The biggest change is there are so many choices. The consumer wants us to be everywhere they are.” Amplifi’s Ginger Taylor White added that advertising is “no longer about the pages of a magazine anymore. It’s about the brand as a whole.” The changing dynamics of buying and selling encourages the magazine media industry to think of innovative, new ways to display ads. Meredith’s Michael Brownstein said, “I feel like we’re marketers. Clients come and they’re looking for great ideas.”